Gorleston choir boy sings for seventy years

A Gorleston man, Mr Robert (Bob) Boardley has recently completed 70 years as a member of St Andrews Church choir and congregation.

On Sunday June 17, Bob was presented with a special Royal School Of Church Music medallion for his choir membership and a beautifully engraved cut glass bowl for his services to the church. The medallion is a new addition to a range of awards that are available for choral services from the RSCM, and Bob is believed to be one of the first choir persons to receive the award.

A cake, specially baked by Dr Patrick Thompson, was presented by Shirley Reid and Judith Gardiner. This was enjoyed by the congregation after the service.

Following the presentation, Bob praised St Andrews Church in Gorleston and all its members for giving him opportunities to further his musical career in so many ways over the years. As well as having a choir of excellent standards for over one hundred years, the church has spawned the likes of the much-vaunted Breydon Chorale (of which Bob was a founder member), The St Andrews Music Festival (of which he was also a founder member) and it is now a regular venue for the G and S Singers and the Gorleston Community Choir.

In his church life Bob has served on the Parochial Church Council as secretary for 6 years, he heads up the Chapter House Development Committee and acts as assistant choir master and conductor, serving under the tutelage of Mr Tony Jaye the resident choir master. He also sings with St Margaret’s Church Choir in Lowestoft as a member of their chorale evensong ensemble.

In his private life Bob served in the electrical industry until his recent retirement in 2014 and has owned and run a nursing home in Park Road. He has been the secretary of the now defunct Great Yarmouth Choral Society and is currently acting as chairman and secretary to the G and S Singers (previously known as the Great Yarmouth Gilbert and Sullivan Society).

Bob is now 77 years old and hopes to complete a further ten years at least at St Andrews carrying on in all his capacities.

Bob says “Without the encouragement of the current and past vicars and PCC my work at St Andrews could not have carried on. These accolades should be shared, at least in part, by all my friends and colleagues and all those unsung heroes who have enabled me to do what I currently enjoy doing, and hope to continue to do in the future.”